Still her father
by never-give-up-hope2
Summary: *SPOILER ALERT* A little insight into what some of Ziva's team-mates think of her father's death.


**So this is a little short one-shot I decided to do after I saw a clip of "Shabbat Shalom". (10x11) Just to make it clear I have not seen this episode, only a short clip when Ziva finds her father, I live in the UK and season ten started yesterday so…. Yeah, it will probably be wrong, most of the details but Oh well… Enjoy : ) **

**(Tony's POV) **

_He was still her father. _

That's the only thing I really know at the moment. No matter what Eli David trained his daughter to be, he was still her father, still her daddy.

The office is quiet except for the constant ringing of Ziva's phone; don't they realise she's not here to answer it? From the messages in Hebrew, I'm guessing it's foreign dignitaries, needing someone to tell them what to do now that the Director of the Israeli Mossad is dead. Even if she was here, the answer wouldn't be helpful. Ziva doesn't know what to do either.

I can't say that I like Eli anymore know that he's dead. He was still a bastard who trained his daughter to be a killer and left her in the desert. But now he's dead. His approval meant more to Ziva that she'll care to admit, that even though she left him, left Mossad, she cared about him, she still loves him. After all he put her through, after all that happened, he was still her father, still the man she looked up to. She still loved him.

(McGee's POV)

I don't think I have ever saw Ziva like that. I don't think I've ever seen her break down. I mean she's Ziva! She's a dark enigma, shrouded in mystery, completely scary, especially when she fingers paperclips. But when I saw her scream 'Abba!", that made me break a little inside.

Ziva's an amazing friend. She's always there to offer advice and offers little gifts sometimes, even the simplest of things can make me smile. She plays pranks sure, but they are more like childish pranks and are softer in nature than Tony's. Ziva's loyal, to all of us, fiercely. And she won't lie to you, no matter how much the truth stings, she would never lie to you.

I knew Ziva and her father had problems, I have witnessed some of them myself. He left her in the desert, that was really hard on her, he trained her to be a killer, he used her. But he did call her when she was stuck in the elevator with Tony, he offered to find the bastard who did that because he saw it on the news in Israel (Why it was on in Israel, I'll never know), I guess that counts for something. He was still her father, and she was still his little girl.

Gibbs is Ziva's father by choice but Eli was Ziva's father by blood. Eli had done a lot of things in his life, many of them illegal, but he was here to redeem himself, he was here to become a better father, something which Gibbs has always been. It's a subject which has made me often wonder; if both men called Ziva to them, which one would she run to?

(Gibbs' POV)

It hurts when your own child is in pain, I know the feeling well. Every time one of them has been hurt, I've felt that familiar ache in my chest. The one that feels as old as life itself. They're all my kids, they all act like kids too, with the fighting - sometimes literal- bickering and pranks and as a parent, you feel their pain when they hurt.

We've never had the death of a parent in the team before. We've lost team members and directors and agents that weren't part of our team, but we have never lost a parent. They all have problems with their parents but not one of them hate their parents enough to wish them dead. Ziva was one case where she had a perfectly good reason to, but she didn't.

Is it possible to hate Eli David more now that he's gone? He left his daughter on several occasions and for that, I hate him. He's still causing his daughter pain even in death. I guess we have all seen what Ziva really is. Underneath her tough exterior, her brave façade, is a scared little girl who just wanted her father's approval so badly.

(Third person )

They all sit in the squad room and their desks, letting the buzz of chatter from the other agents wash around them. Someone has put up the Israeli news on the plasma, it shows the funeral procession in Tel Aviv. The camera briefly zooms in on Ziva, dressed in a black suit, a caption comes up, saying something about Ziva David being Eli's daughter. Nobody's really paying attention to it.

Tony's phone rings but he doesn't answer it, he's too busy searching something on the internet, Jewish mourning details. The answer machine takes the call and Ziva's voice fills the air, Tony's about to pounce on the phone but then he stops, wanting everyone to hear what Ziva has to say;

"Shalom Tony. I was just wanting to call and say that… I got here fine. It will probably be on ZNN and will definitely be on the Israeli news. You are all probably listening to this and I just want to say… I am.. .sorry about Mrs Vance. And also, do not worry about me, yihiyeh tov. Shalom." And the phone rings off but not before they hear a little sniff and on the Plasma, they watch Ziva wipe her eyes.

Tony hits his computer, "I don't know why she's crying over that bastard."

McGee looks at him, incredulous, "You can't seriously be asking why she's crying over her father's death."

"I am! He left her for years, he doesn't deserve her tears!"

"He was still her father Tony, he was still her daddy." McGee's voice is soft, almost dream-like.

Tony turns away, but not before the team here a string of four letter words, none of them very pleasant.

"Look, Tony. There was once a time when she thought her father was the best person in the world, a person that could protect her from anything. She probably once thought that he would never leave her, that he was the strongest, bravest person there is to know. You did, I know I did. But the thing is, they're not, they're just men. And that's a reason why we grow up hating our father's, because they're not the people we expected them to be." McGee says and Gibbs sighs so softly, it's almost inaudible. It's true, we end up hating people because they're not the people we want or expect them to be.

Another thought occurs to McGee and he suddenly bolts upright, "Tony, who does she have left?"

Tony thinks, but he already knows the answer. His eyes fill up with tears but he wipes them away inconspicuously, "No-one probie, she has no-one left."

"That can't be true can it, she must have somebody!"

"No," Tony shakes his head sadly, "No, she has nobody, she's all alone."

Them Gibbs gets up, balling up a piece of paper and throwing it at Tony's head, where it makes contact painfully. On his way out he calls over his shoulder, "You're wrong Tony, she does have somebody. She has us."

**So yeah, sorry that was pretty bad but I felt I just had to write something about the death of Eli David. I mean I know he wasn't the best person but he was a major part of the story and I really feel that Ziva did love him and want his approval more than anything. Just to stress I haven't seen the episode so if things are wrong then consider it an AU (alternative universe). I will continue my Broken story, but would you mind if I wrote one more one-shot about the death of Eli David? That's all and Please review and have an awesome day. ! ~ NGUH2 **

**P.S. - ****Yihiyeh Tov means "things will be fine." **


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